A Muslim guerrilla has been killed and five soldiers wounded in separate clashes in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said Saturday.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels fired anti-tank rockets at a military convoy near the town of Talayan on Mindanao island on Thursday night, wounding an army captain, a lieutenant and three infantrymen, said Colonel Hilario Atendido.
The 13,800-member MILF is the largest Muslim separatist group in the troubled southern Philippines.
Meanwhile government forces killed a member of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrilla group in the island of Jolo on Friday, Atendido said.
The soldiers clashed with an Abu Sayyaf unit near the town of Patikul while on the trail of Abu Sayyaf kidnappers who hold American hostage Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino Rolando Ullah.
The two are the last victims of an Abu Sayyaf kidnapping spree in Jolo and nearby Malaysian resorts.
After the gunmen ransomed off most of the western hostages, President Joseph Estrada ordered a military assault in Jolo in mid-September.
Government forces have since rescued three Malaysians, two Frenchmen and 12 Filipino hostages.
About 200 guerrillas have been slain while more than 500 others were captured or surrendered -- ZAMBOANGA (AFP)
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